A major study into how people use front of food pack nutrition labelling
when
shopping takes a step forward today.

The independent Project Management Panel (PMP), which is managing the research,
has now produced a specification for the study. This is intended to ensure
a robust and comprehensive piece of work, which will provide results both Government
and the food industry can sign up to.

This study will be commissioned by the Food Standards Agency and has the support
of the Nutrition Strategy Steering Group. It will independently assess the
impact of front-of-pack nutrition labelling on shopping behaviour.

Industry and consumer groups are working with the Agency to learn together
what works best for consumers. The PMP was set up to manage the project and
to ensure this important piece of research is robust and independent.

Earlier this year the PMP invited expressions of interest from companies interested
in taking this research forward. The panel has now finalised a shortlist of
those that will be invited to tender. The PMP will assess the tender bids and
select one company to carry out the research.

The independent research will look at shoppers’ understanding and use
of front of pack nutrition labels. Traffic lights, monochrome Guideline Daily
Amounts (GDAs) and traffic light colour-coded GDAs will be studied to see if
they contribute to healthier choices being made and, if so, which elements
of the schemes are best encouraging these.

To determine how consumers use front of pack labels in the retail environment
and at home.

Chair of the PMP and Chief Government Social Researcher, Sue Duncan, said:

" Food labelling is an important issue for the food industry. The
Government also believes it is vital that consumers can and do use labelling
to make
better informed choices about their diet. The key to delivering a solution
that meets
the needs of both these groups is a robust base of independent evidence.
As Chair of the Panel I am confident we have in place a process which will
deliver
exactly that."

In addition, to inform development of the research specification, the PMP
commissioned a small piece of work to provide a snapshot of consumer opinion.
Several small focus groups were held to get shoppers’ impressions of
both GDA and traffic light colour coded labelling and to look at how people
describe using each system.

A literature review was also requested by the PMP – to look at worldwide
research from the last 10 years into consumers’ use of nutritional information
on products.

News is included
on the IvyRose website to inform visitors about current health issues,
but not to endorse
any particular
view or activity. The views stated in the article above are not
necessarily those of IvyRose Ltd.. Material in this news item was released
by
the UK Food Standards Agency on 9 July
2007 and may have been edited (e.g. in style, length, and/or for
ease
of understanding
by our international readers) for inclusion here. For further information,
please visit their website using the link below.